Yesterday I attended the annual UWS Learning, Teaching, and Research Conference. In this blog, what follows is my own “thinking aloud” to think through two different, though I think related, ideas I heard during the day to ask ‘might that work for a church?’

If I had to choose one period of time to go back and visit, I think the 1960s would be high on my list. It’s not for the party of the swinging sixties, nor for the rise of the Beatles, and it’s also not for a nostalgic “life was better then”.

Simultaneously one of the best and worst questions that students in class ask is “but why?” Sometimes it can feel like you’re dealing with a troublesome tot “Why? Why? Why?” but it is a question that keeps returning me to think practically.

People sometimes ask me, why does studying theology help me to live as a Christian? Why does research on an obscure French philosopher help me to deal with real issues? I think this year’s Super Bowl helped me to articulate an answer…

It reminds us of the continual need to fight oppression; it reminds us to be thankful for life even amongst hardships; it reminds us of the power in being hospitable to the other. And probably more besides.